ERYtech Pharma to Present Promising Results for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

LYON, France & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 14, 2011 -
ERYtech Pharma will in the near future present their promising
results obtained with the GR-ARA1 project for the treatment of
sickle cell disease.

Four oral communications will be given at major specialist
Congresses:

Annual Congress of the French Society
of Hematology (SFH) in Paris, France (March 10-12, 2011),

GR-ARA1 is a product developed by ERYtech Pharma to enhance
oxygen delivery to hypoxic tissues. The company has focused on a
first application in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). SCD is an inherited
blood disorder characterized by chronic anemia and blood
hyperviscosity, due to the sickle conformation affecting the red
blood cells under oxygen deprivation. SCD leads to serious medical
consequences, including painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOC), and
anemia. Severe SCD cases are periodically subject to painful VOC,
which may cause severe complications leading to organ damage and
consequently high mortality rates. Current management of severe SCD
cases involves frequent blood exchange transfusions to prevent VOC.
SCD is a chronic, life-long genetic blood disorder, which affects
more than 90,000 new cases every year in the USA and the European
countries.

GR-ARA1 was initially investigated in vitro demonstrating
a reduction of sickling (published in Transfusion-2010). A
preclinical study on a transgenic SCD mouse model recently
demonstrated the beneficial effect of GR-ARA1 on a range of
clinical and biological SCD parameters. The use of GR-ARA1
documented a significant increase in the survival rate of the mice.
Furthermore it induced a major decrease of inflammation, prevented
anemia, and reduced the main risk factors involved in VOC. These
early results are very promising for a successful development of an
efficient new product targeted on VOC treatment and prevention.

“It is very encouraging to receive such a great interest
from the scientific and medical community. We are very excited to
go ahead in the development of GR-ARA1'', said Dr Yann Godfrin,
Co-Founder, Executive Vice-President Preclinical & Clinical
Research of ERYtech Pharma.

ERYtech Pharma (Lyon, Philadelphia) is a specialty pharma
company developing innovative therapeutic solutions based on its
proprietary technology and expertise in the physiological
properties of erythrocytes. The company addresses serious
pathologies, orphan indications or unaddressed sub-populations of
patients, particularly in the fields of hematology, cancer and
metabolic diseases.